* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Reserved on: 7^th August, 2024 Pronounced on: 30^th September, 2024 + CRL.M.C. 364/2020, CRL.M.A. 1560/2020 (stay)

1. M/S MUSCLE FUELZ Partnership firm at Doiwala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Through its partner Lalit Mohan Pandey .....Petitioner No.1

2. LALIT MOHAN PANDEY Partner M/s Muscle Fuelz, Resident of 101/3, Awas Vikas Colony, Haldwani, District Nainital, Uttarakhand ....Petitioner No.2 Through: Ms. Sweta Rani, Advocate.

versus UNITED SPIRITS LIMITED Having office at UM House, 1^st Floor, Plot No. 35-P, Sector 44, Gurgaon, Haryana .....Respondent Through: Mr. Gaurav Mahajan and Mr.

Siddharth Kaushik, Advocates.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA

J U D G M E N T

NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA, J.

1. The Petition under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter referred to as ‘CrPC, 1973’) has been filed on behalf of the Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed CRL.M.C. 364/2020 Page 1 of 7 petitioners for setting aside the impugned Order dated 29.01.2019 vide which the petitioners have been summoned in the Complaint Case No. 3221/2019, titled ‘United Spirits Limited vs. M/s Muscle Fuelz and Ors.’, in the Complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act.

(hereinafter referred to as ‘N.I. Act.’)

2. The petitioners, who are the respondents/accused in the Complaint under Section 138 of the N.I. Act, have submitted that the petitioner No. 2, Sh. Lalit Mohan Pandey is having a Proprietorship Firm in the name of M/s Muscle Fuelz, which is registered in Haldwani, District Nainital, Uttarakhand and is doing business in Liquor retail (IMFL) in Haldwani, Nainital, and during the period 2016-2017, had done business with the respondent Company. As sole proprietor, the petitioner No. 2 had given some cheques for the purpose of KYC, which were never returned by the respondent Company.

3. In the year 2017-2018, the petitioner No. 2 and the other accused Smt. Poonam Alle, partnered together for the business of retail of Liquor (IMFL) in the name of partnership firm M/s Muscle Fuelz i.e. the petitioner No. 1 at Doiwala, Dehradun. All the accounts were maintained in Dehradun only. The petitioner No.1 i.e. the Partnership Firm did its business in the year 2017-2018. The disputes arose inter se the parties in regard to the supply of liquor to be made to the respondent Company by the petitioner No. 1, the Partnership Firm.

4. According to the Petitioner, the blank Cheque No. 000946, which had been handed over by the petitioner No. 2, Sh. Lalit Mohan Pandey, to the respondent as the proprietor of his proprietorship firm Haldwani, Nainital, was misused by the respondent Company and an amount of Rs.70,22,334.28 Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed CRL.M.C. 364/2020 Page 2 of 7 was filled and presented for encashment on account of the petitioners, the Partnership Firm. The hand writing on the aforesaid cheque clearly shows that the amount has been filled subsequently and was not written at the time the cheque was handed over to the respondent Company.

5. The aforesaid cheque on presentation was returned on 28.11.2018 with the remarks ‘Kindly Contact Drawer Drawee Bank’. The petitioners have claimed that this cheque was never issued on behalf of the petitioner, the partnership Firm. Moreover, it was not returned on account of ‘Exceeds Arrangement’ or ‘Insufficient Funds.’

6. The respondent issued Legal Notice dated 17.12.2018, to the petitioners demanding the amount stated in the dishonoured cheque. The parties tried to settle their inter se disputes, however, the respondent preferred the Complaint under Section 138 of the N.I. Act. The petitioners have been summoned vide Order dated 29.01.2019, without considering the aforesaid facts. The summoning Order is challenged on the ground that the cheque in question was not issued by the Partnership Firm/ Petitioners and that the dishonour was not on account of insufficiency of funds.

7. The respondent in its Reply, has admitted that it had started